Nightmares
by autumneuphoria
Summary: She is plagued by the nightmares and the only remedy to her haunted state is him.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters.**

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_Sometimes, she would wake up in cold sweat, her breaths taken in quick pants. Her eyes would be wide with fear and agony, and sometimes she would even have tears rolling down her cheeks._

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She watches as Azula's eyes land on her, a look of pure hatred and insanity glistening on her golden eyes.

The next couple of minutes happen in a blur.

She is vaguely aware of Zuko screaming, a heart-wrenching _nooooo_ escaping his thin lips; and suddenly, he is in front of her. Well, not really _in _front because he's a few feet away from her; but nevertheless, he takes the bolt of crackling blue electricity and becomes the bull's eye instead of _her. Instead of her. _

The words are echoing in her head as her heart pounds in her chest, posture slackening, blood rushing in her ears, time seemingly stopping.

She watches his body fall to the floor limply, his whole form convulsing before curling up into a ball. Azula's maniac laughter rings as horrifying background music and she is suddenly filled with sadness, anger, and fear all at once.

Before she can fully process the whole thing that has just happened, her feet are sprinting towards him; but Azula steps in the way. Azula _always _steps in the way-even back in Ba Sing Se, under the Crystal Catacombs.

The anger she felt earlier overpowers the rest of the emotions and she strikes, letting the anger surge through her. If he was conscious, he would've muttered something along the lines of "You would've made a great firebender." But seeing as he is unconscious because of _her_, she lets the anger and thought of losing him because of this monster in front of her fuel her every blow.

Azula taunts her as she catches her breath from where she's hiding behind a pillar when she notices the water flowing beneath the grate. Hope coursing through her head-to-toe, she positions herself just as she calculated, playing out her plan just as Azula shoots a stream of blue ribbons past her shoulder.

She retaliates by encasing the two of them in a bubble of frozen water, temporarily disabling the Fire Princess. She knows she only has little time before Azula figures out an escape plan; she has to act fast.

Breathing out a stream of bubbles, the warmth melts the ice around her and giving her space to move. Feeling Azula's eyes on her, she takes the princess's wrists and holds it behind her back, all the while manoeuvring herself.

Dropping the ice back to the sewer below with a flick of her free hand, she immediately grabs the metal chains on the floor and ties the crazed-teen to the metal bars and runs towards Zuko, her heart pounding from the effort and from fear.

What if she couldn't reach him in time? Didn't save him?

Her feet slide across the rubbled ground as she hastily lands on her knees, pulling the fallen prince to face her.

With trembling fingers, she coats her hands with the healing water and works on the scar on his chest.

Time seemed to slow down for the nth time that day. Her fingers couldn't work fast enough; her healing abilities couldn't favour her enough. She could feel the tears and bruises on his damages tissues-the slight miss of his heart's vein and arteries.

He's breathing in shallow pants now, his heart beat slowly fading. She feels fear creep in on her again, encasing every tissue, every fiber of her being in dread and pain. She forces the thoughts of losing him out her mind, forces herself to think positively.

But alas, his heart beat is coming to a slow halt and she knows it's done for. She knows his self-sacrifice was more than enough to atone his past mistakes; he has atoned for his nation and ancestors' sins-for the price of his own life.

It is in that moment that she truly understands what love means. Love was her mother's sacrifice for her. Love was Sokka refusing to let her go after Yon Rha because he feared for her safety. Love was GranGran letting she and Sokka go on the quest to save the world because she believed in them. Love was Uncle Iroh's unending patience for the exiled prince. Love was Ursa's banishment for Zuko's sake. Love was Zuko opening up to her when he was seventeen; was staying up outside her tent for her forgiveness; was his taking Aang to learn the Dancing Dragon; was him taking her to see her mother's killer for closure; was rescuing her father from prison; was taking the lightning bolt for her.

Love was Zuko's last gift to the world. And to her.

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_A surprisingly cool hand touches her burning, sweaty skin; and she thinks she hears skin sizzling. She hears a soft voice call out to her, concern laced into every word._

_She dazedly turns and looks into melted-golden eyes of pure love she thought she'd never see again._

_Sobs wreck Katara's body and he _knows s_he just had that nightmare again. He pulls her onto his lap and she clings on tightly, afraid it is just a dream._

_He wraps his arms around her fragile form and reassures her that he's alive. That they all made it out the war, that Azula and Ozai can't harm them now. He tells her that she saved him and that she doesn't have to be scared because he's Fire Lord and she's Fire Lady and their five-month hold prince is sleeping soundly on the other room-right between Uncle's and theirs._

_And she_ knows _that in his arms is one place the nightmares can't touch her because that's where love is._

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11/12/12


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